• Tournament coming to the US for the first time

• Rose says tournament is a huge opportunity

World Rugby has appointed Megan Rose, an American tennis pro turned United States Tennis Association (USTA) executive, as managing director of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, a key appointment as the governing body prepares to host what is by some measures the third-biggest global sporting event on American soil for the first time.

Rose said: “Rugby World Cup is one of the iconic events in global sport, defined by unforgettable moments on the pitch and the passion of fans around the world. To be entrusted with bringing Men’s Rugby World Cup to the United States for the first time is an extraordinary honour, and I’m thrilled to join this team.”

As a tennis player, Rose was a five-time collegiate All American out of the University of Miami, and a national indoor champion. After competing on the WTA Tour, she coached Princeton to an Ivy League women’s tennis championship then worked for the WTA and the USTA, becoming managing director of major events and team leader for USA Olympic Tennis.

Measures vary but on a world scale, the Rugby World Cup is generally placed third in size and prestige behind the Fifa World Cup and the Olympic Games. Australia will host the next two Rugby World Cups, men in 2027 and women in 2029. The US will host the 2031 men’s tournament and the women’s World Cup in 2033.

Rose’s appointment comes a little more than a month since more than 68,000 fans traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, to see South Africa’s men beat New Zealand in the fourth Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, an attendance record for rugby union on US soil. Smaller-scale internationals will be played this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, where the US Eagles women will face Italy before the Eagles men take on an Australia XV. The following weekend in New Jersey, the Eagles women will play England, the world champions, while the men face the Australians again.

Rose said the 2031 World Cup was “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring millions more Americans into the game and create a lasting impact for rugby in this country. I look forward to working closely with USA Rugby, and the clubs, players, supporters, and stakeholders who have built rugby across the United States, alongside the global rugby community, to deliver an incredible Rugby World Cup and build something that lasts well beyond 2031.”

The World Rugby chief executive, Alan Gilpin, said: “Megan is an outstanding leader with a proven track record of delivering world-class sporting events and driving innovation. She joins us at a pivotal moment as our US project enters its next phase – an appointment that reflects the scale of our ambition. Her experience, vision and deep understanding of the US sports landscape make her ideally placed to deliver a defining chapter for rugby in the United States and around the world.”

The US currently supports a men’s pro competition, Major League Rugby, and a women’s semi-pro league, Women’s Elite Rugby. MLR has survived since 2018 but is now down to just five teams after a series of failures, with a possible sixth entrant for 2027 mooted but not confirmed. WER has just five teams too. The US college game has deeper roots and greater strength than is generally known around the rugby world but is politically split and subject to steep challenges in funding and facilities. The US Eagles men failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup in France but will compete in Australia next year. In England last year, the Eagles women fielded breakout social media star Ilona Maher but failed to get out of their pool.

Such hard realities have fueled skepticism around the global game about whether a US World Cup can be successful, at least in terms of engaging the American public and boosting the American game. In Baltimore, around the Springboks-All Blacks fixture, executives from World Rugby and the competing unions expressed confidence that it can.

Announcing the appointment of Rose, World Rugby said: “With more premium match content being played in the US than ever before, 25 highly engaged cities involved in the applicant process and stakeholder engagement building and fan and media interest continuing to grow, the US is poised to provide an unprecedented stage for Rugby World Cups that will redefine the sport’s future and support the ambitions of its global growth strategy.”